Words about science and hiking
The short answer is no. Although nearly all plants contain antimicrobial compounds, these compounds are present only at low concentrations. Diet certainly influences microbiome composition. But this influence works through the availability of foods that different bacteria prefer. “Food antibiotics” are not a thing. Sloppy health journalists are responsible for the confusion. They often call Read More …
Published on Forbes and Apple News There’s little question that we have been suckered into taking far more medicine than we actually require. But let’s face it – we want to be suckered. We ask for it, we demand it, and we get it. Pharma companies are enablers, but they are not all-powerful overlords forcing us to Read More …
Is there no pleasing you people? One of the many institutes comprising the National Institutes of Health is the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Right there on its landing page you will see links for herbal therapies and yoga. There’s even an herb app you can download. The budget for the NCCIH is about Read More …
We’ve been using plants as medicines for a long time. Longer than history — hollyhock has been found in the graves of Neanderthals, and yarrow and chamomile have been found on their teeth [1]. Longer indeed than humanity itself — many animals self-medicate, including chimpanzees, monkeys, baboons and lemurs [2]. A long time. Plants are full Read More …
Published on Forbes and Mental Floss For the most part, they didn’t. At the dawn of the age of scientific medicine (the mid-19th century) there were only a handful of remedies that we would recognize today as safe and effective. But why? Our ancestors were not dummies, and did not require scientific methods to create Read More …
Give it a read and tell me what you think.
Nature is full of antimicrobial compounds. Indeed, most of the antibiotics we use today are derived from secondary metabolites secreted by soil bacteria and fungi. Plants also synthesize antimicrobial compounds as a way of defending themselves against infections. Alliums (which include garlic and onions) in particular are known to produce antimicrobial compounds[1] , and have Read More …
Assigning a “purpose” to any feature of evolution is an invitation to make a fool of one’s self. Evolution is an inherently random process. The desire to use evolution to tell “just so” stories often results in seemingly scientific explanations that are completely bogus. But I’ll bite, and risk looking like an idiot, because this Read More …